


Casual

by Frangipanidownunder



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 06:43:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13945473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frangipanidownunder/pseuds/Frangipanidownunder
Summary: A 30 minute word vomit because I couldn’t get the idea of how casual and loose Mulder and Scully are this season.





	Casual

She could get used to the freedom of white tees and casual jackets instead of the trussed fitted blouse and suit. Pulling on her boyfriend jeans and runners instead of her pencil skirt and stockings sent a different message to her brain. This is just you, Dana. You’re allowed to be just you. God knows how many moulds she’d squeezed herself into over the years. Spy, investigator, pathologist, doctor, friend, lover, widow, mother, wife, ex. She’d had as many personas as outfits. Worn them to her best ability.

Suits changed her, forced her into a different mindset just as her body fitted into the constraints of the items. She thought back to early Mulder and the way he’d yank his tie off as soon as he could. He was always ready to shuck off the trappings of authority and rules to bounce a basketball and just hang. How had it taken her so long to understand?

As she checked her reflection in the mirror, an image of Mulder slumped on the couch, unshaven, greasy long hair, wearing the same tee and track pants he’d worn all week, laptop open on some lurid tabloid article about monstrous cryptids in Alabama. He didn’t glance at her. He hadn’t come to bed for days. It was a moment where she knew she’d lost him. It was the moment. And as she had stepped into the harsh cold, tugging at her coat belt to pull it around her, she wasn’t sure how she was going to bring him back. Or even if she could. He’d shucked off their trappings and they lay in a loose heap on the floor.

Now, she glanced over at her closet. Regimented rows of blouse, skirt, jacket, blouse, pants, jacket. She had a few fitted sheath dresses hanging in there too. All dry cleanable. All expensive. All designed to form and mould the body. Smiling as she zipped up the fleecy jacket, she slammed the door shut and walked away.

The store was tight with moms and prams and dads and sons and grandparents vacantly putting clothes in the basket. She squeezed through the aisles, ducking past hangers and stands, criss-crossing the floor. Her fingers ran across the soft wools and fleeces, the cool cottons and linens. She folded them over her arms, layering, building a softer future. The teller chatted away as she totalled the items. Dana nodded and smiled where Scully would have rolled her eyes at the time it was taking. Time that wrapped itself around her, restricting her with deadlines and demands.

Outside, the air was lighter. She stood in front of the store and breathed. The smell of hotdogs and coffee filled her nose. It had been a while since she’d indulged in pure junk food and she pulled out her wallet. Her hair dropped around her face. It still took her by surprise, this new cut. But she loved it – its freedom. 

“Didn’t you hear me calling, Dana?” he said, standing beside her in the queue.

The use of her first name made her smile. “No, Fox, I didn’t. What are you doing here?”

“Standing with my girl, buying the best chilli dogs in town.” He paid for two.

They sat on a free bench, bags at feet, eating, wiping mustard from their chins. For two loquacious people they could still sit in utter silence and enjoy it.

She unfolded her napkin and cleaned her fingers. “Your girl, huh?”

His grin was easy. “You’ll always be my girl, Scully.”

“You called me Dana back there. It’s been a while.” A sparrow pecked at the crumbs between their feet.

“I called you a couple of times. I called you Scully, but you were lost in a post-shopping fugue. What did you buy?”

She kicked her foot towards his bags. “What did you buy?”

He shrugged and pulled out a cable knit sweater in a soft blue, a thick grey jacket with a cord collar, black jeans, a hoody. “Provisions for a cold winter in our draughty home.”

She opened her bags and let him look inside. “Provisions for winter in my environment-controlled apartment. Just some casual gear.”

“You look good like that, Scully. Relaxed.” His smile faded. “Like you’re finally living the life you want.”

His hand twitched on his knee and she covered it. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a thousand lives. I’m not sure which one I liked the most. But I’m always open to trying new versions.”

His phone bleeped and he pulled it out, keeping his hand under hers. “Apparently, because I checked in and left a review at the Jooze bar – you know the one down the road from the Hoover Building where you select the ingredients from a panel in the wall and it’s whizzed up and served with no human interaction,” he said, chuffing gently. “Because sometimes I just don’t want to deal with bright young things who want to know if I prefer my ice cream made from almond milk or soy, even when I just want it made from cows. Well, they have opened a new sushi restaurant and they’re offering me a deal. One night only. Tonight.”

“Why are you telling me this?” she said, running her tongue around her cheek and trying not to smile too much.

“I don’t know, Scully. Maybe I might want to spend an evening with my girl and eat something a little more upmarket than a chilli dog.”

She stood up and threw the napkin in the bin. “You keep saying I’m your girl, Mulder. It’s a little over familiar.”

“You’re busy tonight, Scully?” His voice held a note of disappointment. But that wasn’t the reason why she agreed to go.

“Sushi, huh? Not really your thing. Sticky bundles of rice and raw fish.”

He nodded. “It’s an acquired taste, I’ll give you that. But maybe we can just check it out. No need for small talk. No service with a fake smile. Just me and my girl in a neutral environment. A casual date, if you like.”

His hand reached out and took hers. She looked at it, wrapped gently round hers, not squeezing, not constricting. Just warm. “If you’re okay with me being Dana tonight, casual will be fine.”

“I might even let you call me Fox again, Dana. It’s kind of sexy when you say it.”

She bopped him on the chest. “I’ll meet you there. Text me the details.” She walked away and looked at the clothes in her bag. She stopped and turned to see him still there watching her. “Wear something casual, Fox.”


End file.
